International ice hockey tournament to return after 12 year hiatus
The World Cup of Hockey will be returning for a third time on Sept. 17 to Oct. 1, 2016. Scheduled to be hosted in Toronto, the World Cup of Hockey games will be played at the Air Canada Centre. The tournament will be made up of eight teams, ranging from Team Canada to Team Europe. This will be the first World Cup of Hockey since 2004.
The NHL-sanctioned tournament was reinstated in order to hold a tournament that won’t conflict with the National Hockey League schedule. Previously known as the Canada Cup, the World Cup of Hockey was held twice—once in 1996 and a second time in 2004. The United States won the first competition, and Canada won the second.
After announcing the return of this tournament, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman also divulged that the World Cup of Hockey would be staying. It will be returning every four years, biannually from the winter Olympics.
[pullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]It will be returning every four years…[/pullquote]
The tournament will take on a slightly new format from the previous two; not only will six countries be present, but so will Team North America and Team Europe. Team North America is made up of under-23 players only, with the intention being to give them an opportunity to play against the best of the best. However, arguments have been made that the age restrictions might not be beneficial. Young players, such as 19-year-old Richmond Hill native and Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid, could easily be a part of Team Canada. Instead, McDavid will suit up for Team North America in the fall.
Team Europe will be made up of NHL players from smaller European countries to give them more of a competitive chance. There are also some athletes on the roster who did not make the cut for their respective countries. In lieu of this, they were given the opportunity to play for Team Europe.
“Those two teams, they’re more competitive than any other country team would have been for this event, so it will make the competition more competitive as well,” Bettman said during his announcement. “Otherwise, you would have had a country with maybe just a couple of NHL players. Now you have what are going to be two very strong teams highlighting more NHL players being included than any other way we could have done it.”
Canada’s roster looks very competitive as they will aspire to take home gold on Canadian ice. Players such as Sidney Crosby, Jonathan Toews, Patrice Bergeron, Steven Stamkos, and P.K. Subban—to name a few—will be taking the world stage for Canada on Sept. 17, 2016.